Time to Build: How Corporate Venture Building Can Help Us Innovate Out of the Crisis
The world in 2020 has been brought to its knees, forced to accept the catastrophes that decades of neglect have caused. And one thing is for certain: now is the time to build our future from the ground up.
As a global society, coronavirus has hit us like a punch in the stomach. Watching countries buckle under the immense pressure on their healthcare networks has exposed a system in deep crisis, unable to cope with the high level of infected patients, as well as our continually ageing societies.
Now is the time to build our future from the ground up
Furthermore, COVID-19 leaves us aware of the other elephant in the room: climate change. Simply and terrifyingly summarized by New York Times bestselling author David Wallace-Wells “it is much, much worse than you think.” As we look around the world we live in today we can already see the effects of global warming all around us: in crippling wildfires, seasonal floodings and climate refugees to name a few. The world in 2020 has been brought to its knees, forced to accept the catastrophes that decades of neglect have caused. And one thing is for certain: now is the time to build our future from the ground up.
Like a bad habit you’ve long been meaning to quit for years, the solution seems so simple, but the reality so hard.
A closer look at the systems that govern our daily lives reveals structures that are so engrained, it’s close to impossible for them to adapt at the speed that is required. Like a bad habit you’ve long been meaning to quit for years, the solution seems so simple, but the reality so hard. Inefficiency is everywhere, from unused parked cars, continual use of limited fossil fuels, to healthcare operators that don’t have the time to communicate with one another, resulting in a patient having to answer the same questions asked by 5 different doctors. Many of these problems and industries are tied to large national and even international regulatory systems. Mobility depends on regional legislation, city planning and government spendings. The healthcare system is built out of brick and mortar practices and hospitals, tied to FDA restrictions, government funding and regulated research. Climate change can be linked to going as far back as the appropriation of oil, a limited, natural resource, as a source of wealth.
The good news is that as people, we have gotten the message. Climate change is a fact we can no longer look away from. And yet, personal efforts only take us so far.
We’re all too well aware the the problem is far bigger than we can grasp, and the solutions are happening much more slowly than is so burningly important. But in an increasingly connected, fast-paced and technological world, why aren’t these changes happening sooner? If renewable energy is widely available for households, why haven’t companies adapted to use them exclusively? Why are we still driving fossil-fuelled cars, let alone producing them? If our data is securely analysed by algorimths and marketers every day, why can’t data be used to give doctors a wholistic picture of our health history so they can help us most efficiently? Why can’t a parent’s cancer directly place their children on a higher screening frequency, or autoimmune diseases be linked together to an overall condition rather than being treated by separate lung, gut and skin specialists?
Systemic change needs to happen at the very core of the existing structures large corporations operate from
These are, of course, big asks to make in a system that is in a constant state of overwhelm, especially now. But that is the exact point. Systemic change needs to happen at the very core of the existing structures large corporations operate from. Moreover, established corporations carry a social and economic responsibility to take action, and build digital solutions to the problems we face as a society. To bring about lasting change, we cannot afford to tear down these structures to start afresh. We need to work with them. And the way to build them is through a new asset class called Corporate Venture Building.
Let’s look at these terms more closely. An asset class is an investment structure used to generate value. Stocks, property or bonds are more familiar asset classes, which both companies and individuals choose to invest in according to their needs and circumstances. Corporate Venture Building is therefore a type of investment to make. So far, so good. But how does investment lead to change?
Through Corporate Venture Building, large-scale companies can leverage their inherent unfair advantage of being settled at the core of a system. This way it’s no longer just financial equity that the company invests, but also their expertise, deep understanding of the industry, from which a new subsidiary is build.
This results in a new company, which has the same agility and employer attractiveness of a startup, but is based within the field of control of the larger company. This way, the concept can be built as quickly as if it were created by a third party startup, but scaled at the rate that only larger corporations can, bringing together the most urgent instruments for change we have. It is an ideal place for cutting-edge ideas to flourish and be turned into functioning, profitable businesses. Combining passionate, highly skilled entrepreneurs with large scale industries creates an unbeatable force for innovation from within the very systems that are most capable and yet unable of addressing the pressing needs of today.
Fast-paced solutions for the healthcare system as well as climate change can be generated with speed and at scale, bringing about lasting change, and creating ways for corporations and entrepreneurs to, effectively, save the world. Through Corporate Venture Building, corporates and entrepreneurs can forge alliances ready to meet the demands of today’s crisis, as well as tomorrow’s.
To find out more about CVB and FoundersLane and how we can leverage systemic change for your industry, please visit our website or contact us.
